There are atheists who are more in harmony with the Church's teachings on these issues than Pelosi is. She sought the confrontation — now she is paying for it.
Nancy Pelosi: ‘Protecting Our Kids--What Could Be More Important Than That?’
(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) gave a speech on the House floor on Wednesday in support of the Protecting Our Kids Act—a gun control bill—and said that nothing is more important that protecting children.
“Protecting our kids: what could be more important than that?” Pelosi said.
“Today, we were called to action by our colleague, Lucy McBath, who told us that, today, we must make history. To protect the children,” said Pelosi. “And we are going to make history by making progress.”
“Every night on our streets, Americans are being killed in gun crimes,” said Pelosi. “And every day, our nation loses Americans to suicides and accidents. This is a tragic daily massacre which rarely makes the headlines or evening news–but it is there.
“So here we are for the children,” she said.
Here is the full text of Pelosi’s floor speech:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Thank you, Madam Speaker.
“I thank the gentleman for yielding and commend him for his leadership in bringing this important legislation to the Floor. Protecting our kids: what could be more important than that? And I thank you for channeling the ideas and enthusiasms of so many Members on both sides of the aisle to bring this bipartisan legislation to the Floor.
“Thank you, thank you, Mr. Nadler, for your leadership. I thank the Task Force, led Mr. Mike Thompson of California – for his important work advancing the background check bipartisan legislation, as well as Mr. Clyburn for his legislation that's already over on the Senate side.
“But today – today, we are doing more. Today, we were called to action by our colleague, Lucy McBath, who told us that, today, we must make history. To protect the children. And we are going to make history by making progress.
So I thank all of our Members, so many Members who have been so important to this legislation. I want to thank you on behalf of the courageous survivors of gun violence who have spoken out, out of respect for those who lost their lives, and with appreciation for the gravity of this issue that we come and be at this Floor.
“Madam Speaker, as the families in Buffalo to Uvalde bury their lost ones, even more communities have been hit by gun violence. Just last weekend, Americans watched in horror as at least thirteen mass shootings unfolded across the country, from Philadelphia to Chattanooga to Phoenix to Grand Rapids. And as the data shows, the challenge of gun violence goes further than these mass killings. Every night on our streets, Americans are being killed in gun crimes. And every day, our nation loses Americans to suicides and accidents. This is a tragic daily massacre which rarely makes the headlines or evening news – but it is there.
“So here we are For The Children. When those who were advocating gun violence – or, perpetrating it went into the classrooms, they crossed a line. It was terrible, the gun violence we have in our country. But that they would go into Newtown and shoot little children who were barely out of diapers, and again now in Texas, these beautiful children in elementary school and everything that happened in between, it was an assault on the culture of our country that our children would not be able to go to school without fear or concern about their safety.
“Our children are–as President Kennedy said–our greatest resource and best hope for the future. They are our precious treasure, and everything we do is For The Children. And For The Children, we must stop this gun violence in our country and restore their confidence and their safety wherever they may be.
S”o we are on a crusade For The Children–and sadly, now by the children. Children testifying in Committee, children coming to our events. I had, last week, a fifth grader coming to our event—Wear Orange rally that we had in California, where she said she lost both her mother and her father in separate gun violence incidences. Fifth grade. Speaking at the podium so courageously. Children turning their grief, their experience now, not just – which would be enough to end the violence of losing a loved one, but to witness it and be a victim of it in the classroom.
“A crusade For The Children, by the children and of the children, in terms of our motivation to stop this for our precious children. Indeed, America has lost more children from gun violence than any other cause. Does that embarrass you? To think that, in our country, more children have died from gun violence than any other cause? These stories are tragically all too common in America today. Countless more than those who died were forever changed by the horrors of gun violence they saw firsthand or that they experienced in their families.
“It's sickening that our children are forced to live in this constant fear. And make no mistake, these gunmen who choose to shoot innocent children are desecrating, again, our culture, a culture where all of us, all of our kids must and should feel safe — whether at school, church, the movies or any other place. Protecting our children can and must be a unifying mission for our nation, because they are, as I said, our national treasure.
“That is why, under the unyielding leadership of our Chairman, Mr. Nadler, the House will pass protecting–the Protecting Our [Kids] Act today. This bold package includes commonsense measures that will make an enormous difference to save lives.
“Who wouldn't vote to raise the age from 18 to 21 for a person to have a weapon of war?
“Who wouldn't vote to raise the age to take weapons of war out of the hands of teenagers?
“Who wouldn't vote to get illegal guns off our streets by cracking down gun trafficking, which is a danger to people but also to law enforcement?
“Who wouldn't vote for background checks on ghost gun purchases, which our law enforcement tells us is a major concern out there?
“Who wouldn't vote to protect children from stolen weapons or accidental shootings with safe storage requirements? Safe storage requirements.
“Who wouldn't vote to ban bump stocks – that was President Trump's executive order – bump stocks from civilian use or outlawing high-capacity magazines – designed for massacres, not for killing varmints?
“These measures will not only help stem the tide of mass murder but address the equally urgent and wide range of daily gun deaths. Let us salute the many Members who have worked persistently to craft this strong legislation, written to earn bipartisan support that the American people expect and deserve.
“Today's package is just one step in the House's relentless fight to stop the bloodshed. Our Democratic Majority, as I mentioned earlier, has twice passed the Bipartisan Background Checks [Act] and Enhanced Background Checks Act, which together would put our nation on a path toward universal background checks. Tomorrow, thanks again to Congresswoman McBath and Congressman Carbajal, we'll pass the Federal [Extreme] Protection Order Act, otherwise known as the ‘Red Flag’ act. This will help keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or to others.
“Soon, we will vote for Mr. Cicilline's Active Shooter Alert Act to create an AMBER Alert style notification during a mass shooting, a measure widely supported by law enforcement. And the House will continue to consider additional actions we can take that have a proven record of saving lives.
“When I talk about these different things, people say: ‘Well, what difference does that –’ well, the cumulative effect is a big one.
“We know that there are negotiations going on in the Senate, and we are prayerful. We are prayerful about those. And hopefully, we can make some advancement, because for all of us who have met again and again and again with the survivors of gun violence – some coming time and again to check up on what's happening, others new, new to that horrible club that none of us wants to be a member of. They just want something to happen.
“Years ago, when I met with – right away with the survivors of Pulse, I said: ‘What can we do to make you feel – to alleviate, to be a comfort to you?’
“And they said, ‘Just make sure it doesn't happen to someone else.’ That's what they said. They didn't say, ‘I need this, I need that.’ They said, ‘Just make sure it doesn't happen to someone else.’
“Right now, in the eyes of survivors and, indeed, all Americans — their eyes are on us in the Congress to see whether we have the courage, the commitment and the conviction, to protect the children. For some of Congress, a moment of silence–it's good enough for them. A moment of silence. As Mr. Higgins said when he talked about Buffalo, he said: ‘A moment of silence now, but action after.’ And now we are taking that action.
“So many of our colleagues – so many of our colleagues have talked about incidents in their district: personal experiences shared by people who have been victims of gun violence. Mr. Espaillat talked about what happened in his district – again, so many of you have come with the horror of it all. And every time it happens, it's as if it's happened for the first time because the horror is so fresh. But it's not the first time for the victims who have to relive so much of the experience.
“So to those who – when a moment of silence is ‘good enough’ because you don't have the courage to take a vote to protect the children, I would say: your political survival is totally insignificant to the survival of our – compared to the survival of our children.
“I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together with a strong ‘aye’ vote on all the provisions in the bill for the final package — and to do so as part of a crusade of, by and For The Children.
“I urge an ‘aye’ vote on the Protecting Our Kids legislation and yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, Madam Speaker.”
Pelosi Has Long Clashed With the Bishops
By Bill Donohue | June 8, 2022 | 1:47pm EDT
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent run-in with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is only the latest in a long line of clashes she has had with U.S. bishops. Her record of openly rejecting key moral teachings of the Catholic Church is extensive, calling into question her repeated assertions that she is a "devout Catholic."
Here is a partial list of her departures from Church teachings and her interactions with the various bishops.
- 1990: Rep. Pelosi took umbrage with New York Archbishop John Cardinal O'Connor for raising the possibility of excommunication for Catholic pro-abortion politicians. She replied, "it has to be clear that we are elected officials and we uphold the law and we support public positions separate and apart from our Catholic faith."
- 1995: The bishops objected to having Frances Kissling's pro-abortion and anti-Catholic group, Catholics for a Free Choice, at the U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing. The head of the bishops' conference, William Cardinal Keeler, said, "To use the name Catholic to promote the taking of innocent life is offensive." Pelosi worked hand-in-hand with Kissling. She defended her by saying, "Many women are concerned about freedom of speech and association at the conference. Accreditation should not be a politicized process."
- 2004: Pelosi defended her pro-abortion stance, saying, "I believe that my position on choice is one that is consistent with my Catholic upbringing, which said that every person has a free will and has the responsibility to live their own lives in a way that they would have to account for in the end." She lashed out at her Catholic critics, commenting, "I'm certainly concerned when the church comes together and says it's going to sanction people in public office for speaking their conscience and what they believe."
- 2004: Following her party's loss in the election, Pelosi said, "As a devout Catholic, I observe with great regret the intervention of some Catholic bishops who joined evangelical leaders in the political arena."
- 2005: San Francisco Archbishop William Levada said that Catholics, including Catholic politicians, must accept Church teaching about "the evil of abortion" if they want to remain "in full communion with the faith of the church." Pelosi publicly complained that she was being "singled out" by the bishops for her defiance of Church teaching on abortion.
- 2006: Pelosi redefines "people of faith" as those who support the federal budget, not the life issues. She defended 114 protesters for blocking the entrance to the Capitol, saying, "They had events in the Capitol, they were arrested on the steps of the Cannon Building...." They were arrested because they broke the law.
- 2008: Pelosi was asked on "Meet the Press" to comment on when life begins. "I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the Church have not been able to make that definition." Following the show, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer chided her for misrepresenting Church teaching and asked to see her. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a news release correcting her. Pelosi struck back saying Saint Augustine took a different view. The USCCB answered her with a two-page document outlining the Catholic Church's historical opposition to abortion since the first century. Cardinal George Pell responded by saying Augustine "believed that the embryo was ensouled at 46 days. Nevertheless, he also believed it was gravely wrong to kill a formed or unformed fetus."
- 2009: Pelosi meets with Pope Benedict XVI and she quickly put a positive spin on it. In fact, she was rebuked by the pope. The Holy See Press Office commented as follows: "His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
- 2014: Pelosi is awarded Planned Parenthood's highest honor, The Margaret Sanger Award, named after the notorious white racist.
- 2014: Pelosi is one of 48 Catholic Democrats who signed a letter criticizing the bishops for considering the withdrawal of Holy Communion from pro-abortion Catholic politicians. The dissidents said such a move would be "counterproductive and would bring great harm to the church."
- 2014: Pelosi publicly lectures San Francisco Archbishop Cordileone on his decision to speak at the March for Marriage, an event that supported marriage as the union between a man and a woman. He had never heretofore publicly criticized her, making plain that she started the public feud between the two of them.
- 2015: Pelosi received an award from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, bringing her grandchildren to the gala. She falsely claimed that same-sex marriage is perfectly "consistent" with Church teachings.
- 2015: Pelosi attacked a Louisiana law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where the abortion is performed.
- 2015: Pelosi invoked Pope Francis in her remarks defending government funding of Planned Parenthood. A month earlier at the United Nations the pope called for "putting an end as quickly as possible" to such "baneful" practices as "the marketing of human organs and tissues." He called for "respect for the sacredness of every human life," including "the unborn."
- 2017: Pelosi seeks to restore the Obama administration's Health and Human Services mandate, which Trump rolled back. Thus did she seek again to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for abortion-inducing drugs in their healthcare plans.
- 2020: Pelosi sought to discriminate against Catholic schools by denying them money awarded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The bishops spoke out against her effort. Yet she defended awarding funds to illegal aliens and sanctuary cities.
- 2020: Knoxville Bishop Rick Stika said, "It really confuses me that both Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi time and time again state that they are faithful Catholics and yet promote unlimited abortion as well as deny so many of the teachings of our faith."
- 2021: The USCCB urged Pelosi to withdraw her plan to force taxpayers to pay for abortions in Medicaid and other federal programs.
- 2021: San Francisco Archbishop Cordileone called on Catholics to join a prayer campaign seeking Pelosi's "conversion to heart" on abortion rights.
- 2022: Archbishop Cordileone tells Pelosi not to present herself for Communion given her long-standing obstinacy defending abortion rights.
- 2022: Over a dozen bishops rush to support Archbishop Cordileone.
- 2022: Santa Rosa Bishop Robert Vasa, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge, Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample and Tyler, Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland announce that Pelosi is not welcome to receive Communion in their dioceses.
- 2022: Pelosi goes on TV to say that not only is Cordileone wrong, so are Church teachings on contraception, in vitro fertilization, gay and transgender issues and abortion.
There is no Catholic politician who has a record of openly defying the Catholic Church on the issues of women, marriage, the family, and sexuality worse than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Worse, she defines herself as a "practicing, devout Catholic," thus giving scandal to the Church by inviting Catholics and non-Catholics alike to believe that one can be a Catholic in good standing with the Church and at the same time reject core moral teachings.
There are atheists who are more in harmony with the Church's teachings on these issues than Pelosi is. She sought the confrontation — now she is paying for it.
Bill Donohue is president and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization. He was awarded his Ph.D. in sociology from New York University and is the author of nine books and many articles.
More Americans Think It Morally Wrong to Wear Fur Than Experiment With Cells From Dismembered Human Embryos
(CNSNews.com) - A newly released survey from Gallup indicates that more Americans think it is morally wrong to wear fur than to experiment with cells taken from dismembered human embryos.
Gallup asked 1,007 Americans aged 18 and older their opinions on the moral acceptability of “19 issues.”
When asked by Gallup if they thought “buying/wearing clothing made of animal fur” was morally acceptable, 60 percent said that it was and 37 percent said that it was not.
By contrast, when asked whether they thought medical “research using human embryo stem cells” was morally acceptable, 63 percent said that it was and only 32 percent said that it was not.
“The embryos being used in embryonic stem cell research come from eggs that were fertilized at in vitro fertilization clinics but never implanted in women's uteruses,” says the Mayo Clinic.
Of the 19 behaviors Gallup asked the respondents about, using birth control had the highest moral rating. Ninety-two percent of respondents said it was morally acceptable.
The behavior that was least morally acceptable in the view of respondents was married “men and women having an affair.” Only 9 percent said this was morally acceptable, while 85 percent said that it was not.
When asked about abortion, 52 percent of the respondents said it was morally acceptable and 38 percent said that it was not.
Seventy-one percent of respondents said that gay or lesbian relations were morally acceptable and 25 percent said they were not.
The most significant divides between self-identified conservatives and liberals in the survey were over abortion, gay and lesbian relations and sex between teenagers.
Eight-six percent of liberals said abortion was morally acceptable, but only 25 percent of conservatives. Ninety-two percent of liberals said gay or lesbian relations were acceptable, but only 51 percent of conservatives. Sixty-nine percent of liberals said sex between teenagers was morally acceptable, but only 28 percent of conservatives.
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